In the known motor vehicle navigation system Blaupunkt Travel-Pilot RNS 149, the a alphabetical order is selected as a sorting criterion. The dimensions of the navigation system are comparable to the dimensions of a conventional car radio. Due to the small device dimensions and the limited space in the motor vehicle, no keyboard similar to those customarily used in typewriters or personal computers is used to enter data into the navigation system. Compared to a keyboard, letters and numbers are entered using substantially fewer input elements, e.g., having fewer than ten keys, the input consequently being more involved. The display of a name as a suggestion makes it possible to shorten the input operation if a user confirms the suggestion. At least one name, whose initial sequence of letters coincides with the letters previously entered, is displayed as a preselection.